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Paralympian reunited with running blades after they went missing in Tempe

Paralympian and world long jump champion Vanessa Low has been reunited with her running blades after appealing for their return when they went missing Saturday evening at the Desert Challenge Games in Tempe.

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Paralympian reunited with running blades after they went missing in Tempe

OCTOBER 22: Vanessa Low of Germany poses with her gold medal at the medal ceremony for the women's long jump T42 Final during the Evening Session on Day One of the IPC Athletics World Championships at Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium on October 22, 2015 in Doha, Qatar.(Photo: Francois Nel, Getty Images)

Paralympian and world long jump champion Vanessa Low has been reunited with her running blades after appealing for their return when they went missing Saturday evening at the Desert Challenge Games in Tempe.

Low said she had been proud of her results at the IPC Athletics Grand Prix held at Sun Angel Stadium as she placed first in both the 100-meter dash and long jump events. She was preparing to pack up for the night when she realized that her racing legs, the ones she's counting on to carry her to the Paralympics this summer in Rio, had disappeared.

A search for the missing black carbon fiber blades with yellow stripes lasted hours as the 25-year-old searched the stadium, she said.

"They were gone. I couldn't believe it. I was immediately devastated," Low told The Arizona Republic on Sunday morning. "I didn't think someone was capable of doing something like this. They were in a special kind of bag and so they're hard to mistake for something else."

But, Low said that's exactly what she was told had happened.

"I got a call a few hours ago that someone had returned the legs. They said that someone had taken them on accident and returned them after seeing my posts," she said.

Low had taken to social media Saturday night to ask the public for help in finding or replacing her blades.

In one post the native German wrote: "Every day I don't have running legs I cannot train as I do not have any spares. Thank you for all your help!"

Hundreds of her followers shared her posts and responded in outrage, expressing that they couldn't believe that someone would steal specialized prosthetic legs.

"It was amazing to see the response from the public. I was pleased to see the love and compassion that people were showing me." she said.

As for the return of her racing blades, Low said she "couldn't be happier."

"I'm a person that believes in the good of people," she said.

Low had left her bag at a table Saturday with one of the companies sponsoring the event.

However, when the group was breaking down at the end of the day, the bag was accidentally gathered with the rest of the bags under the table, said Diana Fischer, who explained that Low's bag was black, had no identifiers, and looked almost identical to her company's marketing gear.

Fischer said she saw the post of the missing blades from AZ Disabled Sports Sunday morning and thought there might have been a mix-up.

"I immediately starting calling my employees asking them to look through our belongings and see if her bag was there, which it was," Fischer said. "I immediately contacted Vanessa and told her what had happened and told her I would get them to her ASAP."

A GoFundMe account had been created on Low's behalf Saturday to raise money for replacements and to raise additional money for the Never Say Never Foundation - an organization that helps disabled youth in athletics and donates prosthetics to runners.

Now, all proceeds will benefit the organization, Low said proudly, expressing how important she believe it is to help people overcome adversity by providing resources and education.

"Walking legs don't allow its user to jog, yet alone run," she said. "Running legs are a luxury. When I first got my blades I felt so fast. It helped me feel whole again and they grew into my personality."

Low said blades are the reason why a railroad accident in 2009 that cut both her legs off above the knee, didn't hit her as hard.

"They helped me get back to the person I was before what had happened," she said.

Low was in Phoenix for four days to compete in the Paralympic qualifiers. She is heading back Oklahoma, where she lives when she's in the United States, before heading back to Germany to prepare for the European Games before the Paralympics in Rio in September.

"It's a Paralympic year and I just got both qualifications for the 100-meter and the long jump," she said. "I'm just really grateful for the compassion shown by the people and that someone decided to return my blades so I can continue to train."